Spy antics in 'American Ultra', 'Bikes vs Cars' around the world and a funny man’s beginnings

The guys outta Compton are still drawing the big crowds so don’t expect this week’s crop to make any major noise. There are some worthy films among them, though. How about a Canadian-made musical? Or a Vancouver-made bio pic of a popular and portly comedian? Don’t pass up the documentary about bikes in cities around the world.

Here’s the whole list:

American Ultra: 3 stars

Sinister 2: 2

Bikes vs Cars: 4

I Am Chris Farley: 3 ½

Bang Bang Baby: 3 ½

Fort Tilden: 3

Hitman Agent 47: not reviewed

AMERICAN ULTRA: Maybe the film-makers couldn’t decide exactly what kind of film to make so they made several kinds in one. It may also be that when their first story, a romance, whips into a spy chase but strains (and fails) to stay logical, they let it evolve into a comedy, with some bloody action to end it off.

Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart star. It’s surely not unintended that they echo two movies they did back in 2009 when he ran and fought in Zombieland and together they flirted in Adventureland. They’re a couple again: he a slacker; she an office clerk. He’s ready to propose marriage but for some high-level infighting at the CIA. One big shot (Topher Grace) wants him dead; another (Connie Britton) tries to protect him. It seems the agency had planted him as a sleeper agent, fully trained but completely unaware. Why, the script doesn’t say. Neither does it address the fact the CIA isn’t allowed to operate within the USA. But what can you expect from a director (Nima Nourizadeh) whose only previous film was about a student party that gets out of control? A speedy, well-acted film with considerable appeal to short attention spans, that’s what. (Scotiabank and suburban theatres) 3 out of 5

SINISTER 2: The nifty little horror film of three years ago breeds a sequel but it feels like more of the same. Creepy scares and startles. Tense steps down into basements. Ghost children urging a boy to kill his family.

Why they’ve possessed him isn’t clear. The best we get is one character asking a priest if he believes in the existence of evil. Start thinking like that and anything is valid. In the first film Ethan Hawke investigated. He’s not back but the deputy sheriff who helped him (James Ransone), is. He’s a private eye now, convinced another family is in danger and he must burn down their house. Shannyn Sossamon is the mother, Robert Daniel Sloan and Dartanian Sloan are her sons. The film is effective when it portrays the poverty, fear and sibling rivalry in their lives, especially when an abusive ex-husband comes to claim custody of the boys. But that’s not the main point. Those ghosts showing 16mm films of ritual murders to inspire more is the central story. There’s also a boogieman who, like in the first film, pops up without explanation now and then. The film is eerie and well-paced but not as scary as you’d want. (International Village) 2 out of 5

BIKES VS CARS: This should be of big interest around here where bike lanes are argued about and where a million more people are said to be coming and surely bringing a million more cars. Swedish film-maker Fredrik Gertten brings us all the facts and numbers we would ever need to debate the subject.

He doesn’t visit Vancouver but argues the case for bikes and against cars very well in some key battlegrounds. In Sao Paulo, Brazil he’s told there’s a cyclist death every four days. In Copenhagen, which has more bike lanes than all of the United States, 40 per cent of the commuters cycle to work. “They’re like insects, swarming everywhere,” says a taxi driver. Los Angeles has clogged freeways which were promoted by the car industry. Long ago it had a road just for bicycles, which some activists are now trying to document. The Toronto information is outdated. Ex-mayor Rob Ford is seen railing against bike lanes and what he called a war on cars. Protesters are seen trying to stop work crews from erasing a bike lane. No word on any new policies now that Ford is gone. Angela Merkel in Germany, meanwhile, blocked new car emission standards. The information is bracing and plentiful but there’s a vein of optimism in the film’s call for action. (VanCity Theatre. Friday’s screening will be followed by a panel discussion) 4 out of 5

I AM CHRIS FARLEY: I’m not quite sure why the heavy-weight comedian merited such a tribute documentary. Not when it seems much of the story isn’t here — the most dramatic parts, the tragedy. We get a warm appreciation by his friends, colleagues and family telling us how much they loved him and what a great comic talent he was. Okay, but then how did he happen to die in a Chicago condo OD-ing on crack and heroin and arguing with a prostitute? We don’t get much about his decline. That fame got the better of him may be true but isn’t enough.

Still, some of his funniest stuff is here. His manic motivational speaker, his chubby Chippendale dancer, the inept host interviewing Paul McCartney. Classic characters he created at Chicago’s Second City or on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. His work isn’t subtle and usually excessive but a long roster of friends talk glowingly about it including pals Adam Sandler, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, David Spade, B.C.’s Will Sasso, Christina Applegate, Bo Derek and SNL boss Lorne Michaels. Home movies take us right back to his childhood where he, the classic middle child, was already craving attention and searching for an identity. These things are briefly mentioned but not explored to any great degree. Events from his last years are politely glossed over. The film, efficiently-produced here in Vancouver, is for his fans. The co-directors are Derik Murray, who has made several other biopics, and Brent Hodges, who made the very funny A Brony Tale. (The Rio Theatre starting Tuesday. Chris’s brother Kevin will be there next Friday and Saturday to answer questions.) 3 ½ out of 5

BANG BANG BABY: This gently strange hybrid of '60s nostalgia, rock and roll and beach party movies with some mild monster movie elements tossed in may be the most entertaining film this week. It’s a clever parody of those genres and a surreal take on the lure of dreaming big. It’s Canadian, written and directed by Toronto’s Jeffrey St. Jules, making his first feature after several well-received short films, and it’s also an award winner at festivals.

Jane Levy plays the dreamer, a small-town girl who wants to enter a talent contest in New York but can’t get there. Her alcoholic father (Peter Stormare, best known for Fargo) won’t let her go but opportunity comes to her. A heartthrob TV star and singer (Justin Chatwin) has a car breakdown nearby, Jane just happens to know cars from daddy’s repair shop, fixes the ride and charms the guy. They sing together (because it’s also a musical) and there’s a bubbly mood all round. It’s all good. — well, except for that accident at the chemical plant that is spewing out a toxic cloud and causing mutations. Or is it only causing hallucinations in her head? It’s a pleasing cocktail of a movie with cheesy effects, a smartly-crafted look using old rear-projection techniques, good songs and musings about dreams and fantasy. (International Village) 3 ½ out of 5

FORT TILDEN: Young women of the millennial generation may recognize themselves in this film. Woe to them if they do because these two characters are irritating, self-absorbed know-it-alls and worse yet, helpless. It’s quite a vicious portrait that starts like a comedy but never really blossoms into one. An early scene when Harper and Allie make mean comments about two singers in a club and then gush insincerely when they meet them is nicely real. You don’t laugh though. At most, you chuckle a bit. As more scenes like that happen and you hear their wise-acre cynical observations on just about anything, you find yourself getting as much annoyed as amused.

Harper (Bridey Elliott) and Allie (Clare McNulty) live in Brooklyn and we have the privilege of following them for a day. They meet a couple of guys at a party the night before, arrange to meet them at the beach and set out to get there. “Sure you can take a day off from nothing?” somebody asks. They do. The trip is epic, in the sense that so much happens. They borrow a bike which is stolen. They are distracted by a clothing store sale. They get expelled from a taxi. Friends are condescending. They argue and bicker as they travel and generally reveal how vapid they are. It’s all intentional. Writer-directors Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers aim to skewer the generation. They just do it with too much mean spirit and too little humour. (International Village) 3 out of 5

Also now playing:

HITMAN AGENT 47: Not only is this another try at turning a video game into a movie, it’s the second stab with this particular game. The first one, back in 2007, drew terrible reviews. This one is doing the same. Gamespot.com reports it’s on track to be one of the worst reviewed ever. “Ridiculous mass-slaughter scenes” says one reviewer. Rupert Friend of Homeland plays the character and a director freshly-graduated from commercials called the shots. (Scotiabank and suburban theatres)